Of Glory - Part I: The Hand that Feeds
by khanmiR1
Summary: <html><head></head>Part 1 of a trilogy titled "Of Glory". SUM: Not everyone's story is predictable, and the Hero of Kvatch's background isn't one you would expect. Her fate was sealed when she joined the Dark Brotherhood, leading ultimately to her infamous legacy. This story's pairing is LucienL X OC/ Hero of Kvatch. Rated M for sweet, sexy lemons.</html>
1. Prologue

_Hello! While I take a break from my other stories, I've decided to post this soon-to-be trilogy. _

_FYI, this fic is AU, and my interpretation of the story line of Oblivion. The hero of Kvatch's name in this trilogy is Aeris. Each part of the trilogy is a new chapter of Aeris's life and a new love interest. While I will be incorporating certain parts of the actual game's story and quest lines, I will not be including most parts - only the necessary ones. I'm terrible at summaries and author notes...don't let it deter you from trying out the story!_

_Anyway, Enjoy!_

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An unwavering hand drew the cord of a large bow taut. The action stretched the weapon's limb, curving it to an almost unnatural bend. Another hand drew an arrow black as night, streaked in silver with a plume of feathers in a deep shade of purple to place it in the void between the bow and cord. The woman holding the two was calm against a stormy night. Though the wind blustered against her body, her arms held true, keeping the weapon steadily pointed at her target. Her eyes glinted in the moon's gaze, bouncing back and forth from each guard positioned around the tower in her sights. She sighed before drawing in a deep breath and pulled the bowstring even further past her ear. She had one shot, and she wasn't about to let the wind ruin the kill.

In a fluid motion, her finger released the cord. As the arrow was sent cutting through the night air like the swipe of a cutlass against grass, her arm fell slowly, bringing the top of the bow to follow in the path of the arrow before it swung limp by her side. In a mere second more the deed was done. The whistling of the arrow's feathers had ceased and the huntress squinted her eyes through the darkened tower window in search of her kill. She replaced the bow in its holster on her back before casting herself invisible. A small smirk appeared on her lips at the thought of her bypassing those dolts standing guard at the tower. She was about to climb right through the window, right in front of their faces.

Her feet pushed off of the tree she was hiding in, tossing her body through the air towards a stone wall not too far below. Not a second after she had landed, she was once more gone from the wall. Her hands were now gripping at the base of the window, pulling her body's weight up towards the opening. Experienced feet padded silently through to the floor of the dark room. She closed her eyes for a moment to revel in the shadows encasing her being. Resuming her pace, she moved towards the bed. Her victim lay motionless before her, eyes wide in the realization of death just before it hit him. The killer poked lightly at the cloth around the arrow in the man's chest. It was still completely dry, the arrow acting as a vacuum plug for the pooling flesh underneath. The corpse's mouth however, told a different story. Gushing blood still in lifelessness, his lips were stretched open in the endings of a silent cry. She grimaced at the sight and removed her arrow while bringing her fingers to his eyes in a motion to close them forever. The woman solemnly placed the arrow back in its quiver and turned on her heel towards the window.

Just as she reached her exit, her eyes widened as she remembered one more thing she needed to do. Chuckling quietly to herself at her absentmindedness, her hand disappeared into a bag at her side, only to resurface with a small flower. She placed the Nightshade gingerly on the corpse, covering the now bloody hole with the delicate object. Its soft, pink petals seemed to glow in the light of the moon, framed by the velveteen liquid flowing from the wound it covered. Satisfied in her funeral, the woman turned once more, this time to leave the corpse behind for good.

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><p>The moon shined a bright, almost effervescent ray through clouds of trees to rest on a sulking individual. Sweat on the subject's forehead pooled together in small droplets to rivet slowly down her face. She automatically wiped with her sleeve. Another droplet fell. Another wipe.<p>

She was a mechanical object tonight, set to react only when necessary, while consistently moving step after slow step towards her goal. She had no feeling, no emotion, and no intent other than to lie down and sleep. Her legs creaked one after the other, padding back down to the dirt below in a monotonous, almost lazy fashion. It wasn't without reason, of course. Hers had been a job full of great burden, of which she now carried on her shoulders alone. Three targets in two days. The last one was by far the most challenging, not because of retaliation. In fact, she had been lucky enough to stumble upon a large tree with a clear view into the victim's chambers. No, it was the journey to and from the killing spot that seemed to suck the life right out of her already fatigued body. It had been a stressful process, getting from outside the castle walls to the tower. Being the furthest building inside the walls wasn't enough of a game for fate to play with her. She had encountered many guardsmen along the way, fighting silently and efficiently so as not to arouse suspicion. By the time she had finally completed her vengeful task and left the castle grounds, her body felt near to collapsing. She couldn't stop, however, under any circumstances. The death of a nobleman would soon be made known to any guards that hadn't succumbed to the assassin's prowess. Loitering any longer would only bring her among those whose lives she had taken.

She realized this, and she ran. Ran until her lungs screamed in pain. Ran until her heart pounded in her chest like the rumbling of a stampede. Ran until her feet and legs finally gave way and she fell to the ground, panting and wheezing. She gulped down lumps in her throat and pounded her fist into the dirt, sobbing in angry mourning. The world stopped around her, and the only things she could hear was the repeated mutterings of 'I'm sorry' from her own lips, and the erratic pulse of her aching heart through her temple. She lowered her throbbing head into her arms, and let loose the burden she had been holding for so long in a flurry of tears.

In the shadows of the hauntingly dark trees around the woman, a cloaked figure watched in utter silence.

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"M'lady!"

Tired eyes turned slowly to the source of the caller's voice. It was a young boy, dirty and grimy from standing in the mud all day. He was waiving a paper quite ecstatically while quickening his steps towards his soon-to-be patron.

"M'lady, I've got a paper for you. You look like you could use a few words to cheer you up!" The boy grasped at her limp hand, opening her fingers and placing the paper in her palm. His eyes lit for a moment before he held up a finger, signaling for her patience. The woman waited quietly, grasping just tight enough to barely keep the paper from falling.

Her joints ached and her muscles screamed at her in anguish with each movement. Though her body was tired, her senses were still sharp, and she took in the comforting sight of innocence. Physically tired and mentally exhausted, she watched the youngling and memorized how he looked. Death begat sadness, and all she longed for was even a small bit of happiness. Her gaze found it in the boy, and she wanted to remember it. He was rummaging through a sack, moving tiny fingers through wads of paper. His hair was tousled, in a way that only a boy of his age could manage. His ragged clothes showed the signs of a beggar while his lack of shoes and dirty feet proved to her he was homeless.

Before long he yelped a victorious 'Got it!' as his hands brought up a small, red string. He took the paper from the woman's rough hand and rolled it up, smoothing out the edges before gently tying the string around it. Gripping her hand again as if to teach her how to hold the object, he stamped his foot excitedly and looked up.

"You don't read it until you get home. Take a rest, sleep a little bit, and then read all about how a man and a woman found love by gardening together in the Arboretum! It's a great story." His grin was something from a place far away from the woman, and she curved her mouth in amusement.

"Can you even read, boy? How old are you?" She kneeled in front of him, bringing herself to his eye level. She watched him clasp his hands behind his back and listened with anticipation while he recited for her the alphabet.

"I've lived for 6 years, and that's not all! While I might not be able to read as fast as some, I can still read! It's slow, but I get the job done eventually." The woman shook her head and looked around at the passersby. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead closed it and decided on a different response. She winced a bit as she pulled out a few gold coins from her pocket. Offering them to the boy silently, she watched his face brighten like a Sundas morning, teeth flashing like the stars above Nirn.

"Is this all for _me_, M'lady?" His voice was fervent, and he started wiggling his arms while he looked on in amazement at what she held. She nodded and patted his head after he had the coins in his possession. She stood up to leave, then paused when she saw his face. Another smile formed on her lips when she noticed a tear drop from his dirt caked cheek. He suddenly hugged her legs, sniffling and snorting back his messy tears. The grip was tight around her and for a moment she didn't know what to do. The sharpness of her senses left her, and the experiences from the days prior were sent miles away as something dim and warm grew stronger in her heart. The tired woman reached her arms down and picked the boy up, cradling him in a motherly embrace. She gently held him, patting and rubbing his back as he cried out pent up anger and loneliness in liquid form into her shoulder. When his sniffling subsided, the woman gently set him back down on the ground and handed him a small pack taken from her belt.

"You take this, boy. Don't open it until you are somewhere safe and alone. When you see what's inside, close it again and think about what you want to do. Don't sell papers anymore. Just go and…live." He nodded obediently and wiped his face with a grimy sleeve. She smiled warmly at him once more before turning away to continue towards the gates of Talos Plaza.

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><p>When the city's giant doors closed shut behind the angel, the boy ran into a covered corner, behind a myriad of bushes. He waited for what seemed like an eternity to him, until the sun was almost set. Finally, he deemed it safe to open her present. Upon releasing the string that tied the small sack, he felt his eyes well up once more with tears. Gold coins shined and sparkled amongst every color of the rainbow beneath the canvas cloth. Jewels of all shapes and sizes glistened in the dimming sunlight and into the boy's eyes. It was a small fortune and more than he had ever held or seen before. He couldn't hold his tears back any longer, and he let his eyes flood freely. The boy had been alone, but then he found her, his angel. She helped him when no others would, and he would never forget.<p>

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"You sleep rather soundly for a murderer… _Aeris_." Eyelids shot open at the sound of her name, only to be met with complete darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she scanned the room with much strain; it appeared her candle had gone out at some point. Her search came up empty as she confirmed that there wasn't anyone else in the room with her.

"Must've been a dream…" She mumbled to herself as she swung her legs out from under the blanket to hang over the edge of the bed. She released a stiff groan when her stretching yielded nothing more than a sore back. Aeris brought herself to stand and walked slowly to a small desk, being careful not to bump into anything on the way. Her hand finally reached a cold, metallic glass and she raised it hungrily to her mouth, quenching her thirst with stale mead.

Something thin and sharp pressed itself against her throat, just before she took another swig of her drink. Her muscles tensed and she froze with eyes wide. A warm body pushed against her back while an arm wrapped menacingly around her waist, holding her tightly.

Aeris felt the body shake as a deep chuckle writhed and curled out of a mouth that was too close to her ear.

"You can finish drinking. A fresh kill often leaves me thirsty as well."

With a sudden bout of anger firing up in her chest, she rebelled against his remark and spat the drink out messily. She felt the stranger sigh. He released her waist and removed the blade from her skin. She watched silently while he took an uncomfortable amount of time cleaning the blade of any mead she had gotten on it.

"Anything that isn't water has a chance of spoiling the life of a good blade if left alone." The man's voice was a soft thunder against the quiet of the small room. Minutes seemed to roll by effortlessly as the two stood in front of each other, watching the being before them. Finally, the man spoke first.

"My name is Lucien. I am from a…brotherhood that is interested in your talents and abilities. We would like to extend you an invitation to join our ranks." Lucien clenched his jaw when Aeris scoffed at his words.

"I'm not interested in working for the Dark Brotherhood."

"I implore you to rethink your brash response. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Besides, we both have something the other wants."

Aeris narrowed her eyes and answered with a thick layer of skepticism, "What could you possibly have for me that I can't already get on my own?"

"Allies." His arrogance tore through her resolve like a brick through paper, leaving her fragile mind alone to sloppily attempt at patching up the hole it left. She realized with much stubborn struggle that Lucien must have been watching her for quite some time. She knew the Dark Brotherhood was resourceful, but she had never thought about just how good they were.

"Remind me, Aeris, who was your last kill? In fact who were your last three kills?" He waited for a moment to see if she would bother answering his rhetorical questions. When there came not but a breath from her person, he continued.

"I've seen what you've done. Your actions have left you friendless and alone. It wasn't your fault of course; they were all traitors – terrible people. But what do you have to show for your vengeance besides a few marks of their blood staining your clothes? I can offer you a home; a place where each person will never even think of betraying you. And of course, gold."

Confusion tainted the woman's features as she mulled over his words.

"Any questions?" Lucien read her face like an open book, and prompted her to vocalize her thoughts.

"But I…I didn't kill anyone. Anyone innocent. I thought the Brotherhood appears if you've… _murdered_." Aeris barely choked out the finishing words to her statement. As her voice cracked at the end, realization of a grave mistake washed over her spine, curling and twisting her insides. She vomited the day old mead onto the desk next to her, heaving more from terrible guilt than from the drink.

"I can see you've already answered your own question." He paused as another round of dry heaves escaped her mouth.

"The last man you killed… with that exquisitely beautiful arrow… he was in love with you and coincidentally would have probably never done anything to harm your being. He was merely guilty in your eyes by association. I apologize for not telling you sooner…" Another heave from the now shaking woman, "…but you needed to follow your own path. I could not interfere." Aeris reeled from the desk and cranked her arm back in preparation for a punch. She swung at the man, anger and regret seething and burning inside of her gut. Lucien effortlessly grabbed hold of her wrist and buried his dagger into her arm. With a cry of pain, Aeris pulled away from his grasp, clutching at her bloodied limb in stupefied horror. She fell to the wooden floor beneath her feet, mind moving a mile a minute, yet she was unable to think of anything in particular at all. Her thoughts became blank, slowly being filled with the dark and smoky hues of sheer pain. She hazily felt a warm hand wrap around her chin, pulling her out of her self-induced madness. She focused her eyes on two dark orbs in front of her while her ears defogged themselves to hear what Lucien was saying.

"…a restoration spell. Use your damn magic." His words rang clear as bells toward the end. It was enough to snap her out of her comatose shock. Without a word, Aeris waved a glowing hand over the wound, closing off the open flesh and mending tendons and sinews underneath the new skin. When the soft hum of a magical aura faded, her arm was as perfect is it ever had been. She leaned her back against the side of the bed and rested to rebuild her magicka stores.

Her panting slowed finally and her breathing continued at a normalized pace. She was fine now, voiding herself of any regretful thoughts. She didn't have time to try and repent for her actions. It was too late for that. Resolving to change the course of her life, she cleared her throat softly.

"Is there something I need to do." Lucien rested his eyes on her form. She seemed small now, small and calm and quiet. In a much softer voice, he continued his conversation with her.

"If you would like to join us, you will simply need to kill again." His gloved hand moved into his robe and pulled out a small, sealed envelope. He offered it slowly and gently.

"Your first assignment of many, should you so choose. If you accept my offer, take this virgin dagger to taint its blade with his blood. If you refuse, you need not do anything. Ignore the letter and go on with your life, and I promise I will leave you be in peace."

Aeris closed her eyes in thought, scrunching her brows together in frustration. In her mind, all she could hear was her acceptance to his offer. There was only a small voice that pleaded with her to rethink her options. When her eyes opened again to lay on Lucien's irises, the small voice was gone and replaced with a new fire, stronger than ever. Her hand reached for the parchment and dagger, while her eyes reflected a timid gratitude towards the man. Lucien nodded in approval, and turned invisible, leaving her alone once again.


	2. Meeting Sithis

_Hey readers. Thank you for the 2 followers/ favs! I seriously wasn't expecting any since Lucien isn't exactly a popular fanfic character... for reasons unbeknownst to me. Anyway, we're building up some climactic events(hehe)._

_Thanks for reading guys._

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"You took longer than I expected." Lucien appeared in the doorway of a small inn room, holding his prized dagger. He closed the door behind him and leaned onto the near wall, twirling the knife's point on his calloused palm. Aeris held up a finger as she flipped to the last page in the book she held, gradually smiling bigger until she finally let out a chuckle. She clamped the book shut and raised from her seat in the corner to look at Lucien with an expression that seemed beguiling to the man.

"What were you reading?"

"It's called 'Withershins'. By Yaqut Tawashi." She pronounced the author's name slowly, yet effectively. "I was recommended the book by a salesman as I entered the Market District. I thought it was going to be a waste of time at first, but it was really rather humorous." Handing Lucien the book, she proceeded to lean against the wall opposite her guest, leaving only a foot's length between them in the small bedroom. The man flipped through a few of the pages lazily before stuffing it somewhere in his robe. He crossed his arms and looked at her. For a moment, Aeris forgot that she had just killed a man. Instead, her mind wandered about Lucien's form, allowing her eyes to work their way up and down his tall frame. She took in a breath, smelling what could only be his particular scent, as she hadn't noticed it prior to his entrance. Suddenly becoming aware of her impertinence towards him, she quickly averted her eyes to the floor.

Lucien watched her with a bemused glint in his eye. He was only certain of the fact that she had looked him up and down. It had been a while since he had any woman's eyes on him in the way she just had; intriguing to say the least. This woman was interesting, perhaps simply because she showed him she was _interested_, though it attracted his attention nonetheless. His eyes narrowed a bit automatically while he sized up the woman in front of him. After watching her actions for the past week, he wanted to think that he knew the reasoning behind most of what she did. He was willing to bet that her natural instincts were simply catching up to her, perhaps sped up due to the influx of adrenaline in the past few days. He reassured himself by drowning out a possibility of coupling through the notion that she would be attracted to any man who stood before her, not just him. Besides, Lucien was a Speaker for the Hand. These thoughts should not have even entered his mind at all. _By Sithis…she's in my head already._

"So where do I go from here, Lucien?" The man woke from his thoughts and glanced at Aeris quizzically, before remembering his purpose. Still dazed and annoyed at the fact that he had let a woman distract him, he answered curtly, "I am a Speaker for the Black Hand, the core governing body of the Dark Brotherhood. Each Speaker is given orders from the Night Mother herself through our Listener, which we then carry out by way of our underlings at each Speaker's respective Sanctuary. You are to report to mine in Cheydinhal, where you will be formally inducted into our order and quite possibly given your first task." He handed her yet another paper, to which Aeris graciously accepted this time around. Her willingness did not go unnoticed. Leaning against the wall once more, Lucien waited for a response as she read through his letter. He asked himself what harm there would be in testing the woman, to see what her intentions really were. Aeris interrupted him by folding the paper quite promptly thereafter, stuffing it into her pants pocket before taking a step closer to him.

"I'll go at once. But Lucien…I'm guessing this means I won't be seeing my recruiter for quite some time. If I'm gathering correctly, I begin as a petty killer, and work my way through the ranks."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes. The frequency with which you receive contracts directly from me are entirely dependent upon your success." Lucien took the liberty of closing the gap between them by stepping the distance, leaving their faces just a hair's breadth away. His heightened senses picked up the tiniest of changes in her demeanor. This was a new test, not for the Brotherhood, but for more personal reasons.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She swallowed and tilted her head up towards him. Lucien breathed calmly and steadily all the while as he watched the once confident woman squirm slightly in his gaze. He felt her take a step back… so he stepped in. Once more it happened, then her back hit an obstruction behind her and she was surrounded. Lucien leaned a toned arm against the wall by Aeris's shoulder and pushed his chest into her, feeling her heart beat quicken through layers of clothing. His face was above hers, neck craned slightly to just barely align their mouths. He felt her soft breath on his face and he almost failed to resist the burning urge to just take her lips with his own. But that wasn't how the game worked.

Lucien reached up and cupped her chin with his free hand, leading her face into more of a tilt and bringing their noses to brush slightly.

"I'll visit every once in a while. Don't miss me too much, Murderer." He let his hand linger on her chin until her response floated seductively into his ears.

"I'll be waiting, my Speaker."

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Lucien fought against his drooping eyes as he approached the looming walls of his home. Clothes torn and battered, he was the picture of defeat. Refusing to stop until he reached his bed, he slid slowly and painfully off of his horse, and sent it out to a small clearing near his Fort. He reached a large rock, covered in bunches of Morning Glory signifying an out-of-the way entrance.

Inside, the assassin was losing his consciousness. He was to meet Aeris to relay terrible news to her along with a very serious assignment. At the rate he was going however, their rendezvous and consequential contract would have to wait. He limped by the first set of bookshelves, collapsing onto the cold tile with a frustrated grunt. His eyesight was blurry and his ribcage burned against the flesh that lay over it. More than a few things in his body were broken, and he was painfully aware of each one.

As if he didn't already have enough to think about, one particular woman refused to leave his mind. Lucien could not get rid of the thought that Aeris would be a sight for sore eyes right about now. Perhaps she would figure out how to reach him in his lair with ease. Maybe Sithis would intervene and make known to her the dire situation. _Nonsense._ He scoffed to himself at the ridiculous notion. He must have been getting delusional from the pain, but oh was it a comforting thought. To even fantasize in this moment of despair that she was on her way to his mangled body was just enough to comfort him. It might have been immature of him to think of her in this hour. But Lucien irrationally reassured himself that in any other time he wouldn't have even chosen to dwell on the subject. Unfortunately, his body felt as if it was being torn apart, and distracting his mind from his discomfort appeared to be the only salvation.

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_A quill impatiently tapped against the inside of an ink bottle. The hand that held it there was pinching a little too hard, as the man it belonged to was growing ever more frustrated at the task at hand. Lucien had been attempting to finish some paperwork in Ocheeva's room when an excited Murderer burst through the doors, catching her Speaker very off guard. It was the second time the woman had surprised him, and he mentally noted that he won't let it happen for a third. When he veered around with a face of forced anger, Aeris caused him to once more be taken aback. Her newly donned Shrouded armor was cool and tight against her nimble frame, hugging each curve and bone to perfection. Lucien cursed at himself and sat against the backing of his chair, only able to simply stare at her._

"_Well? Do I look good or what?" Her tone was a blend of mocking, teasing, and alluring, all rolled from her tongue with a seductive sort of ease that ran a shiver down the spine of her male counterpart. Primal urges aside, he nodded in agreement with her, as she appeared to be the perfect killer. The only bright part about her was the exposed skin of her face and neck which seemed to constantly radiate warmth from any angle. The rest was dark, and blended well with the shadows, including her jet-black hair. He placed an arrogant smirk on his lips in an attempt at distracting her from his initial reaction._

"_Off to your first contract already?"_

"_Not quite yet. But I'll never refuse a chance to try on some new armor if I can afford the time. It makes me feel…invigorated."_

"_Maybe you should have joined the Brotherhood much sooner..?" He quipped at her as he set the quill on the table, dismissing his work for later. He watched with feigned disinterest (oh, he was __very__ interested) as the woman in black stepped delicately closer to him. It was with the sight of her walking towards him that he perceived her true intentions – she was toying with him. She didn't care about anything that might come as a consequence to their perpetual flirting. Hers was a game that required no effort, and yielded no results. Lucien concluded that she had no expectation of any further action on his part, as did he for her. In fact, she must be playing the game similarly to how he had started; with a small thought of 'what if'. _

_And that particular fact, was what made his game that much more satisfying for him. Each conversation they had, each flirtatious bat of an eyelash pushed his senses over the edge and forced him to continue evermore. She was slowly causing him to lose control of his thoughts and urges, unknowingly. In fact, Lucien readily admitted to himself that her barging in on him and showing off her body was the beginning of a new type of game for the Speaker. He was now more curious than ever before as to what secrets this woman held within. She was mysterious and passionate, sensual and fiery all at once. It confused him to wonder at how the soft sides of her personality even worked in conjunction with the brash and hard sides. This made him want…more of her. _

_Lucien closed his eyes and grasped at the sanity in his mind, resolving to keep himself in check. A Speaker should know better than to fraternize with a lesser member of the Brotherhood._

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He repeated in a mumble the ending thought of his memory once again as if to drill into his head its meaning.

_A Speaker should know better than to fraternize with a lesser member of the Brotherhood._

As if on cue, the woman in question slowly came into focus. She was kneeling in front of Lucien's sprawled body, speaking things in hushed tones and grabbing and prodding at his limbs. He groaned in response to each painful touch with the hopes that his vocalizations would deter her from continuing. It didn't. When it was finally over, he felt two very specific points on his back start to burn like the fire of the sun. One of the points lifted, and in a second later a cold hand covered his mouth. The point that was still concentrated on his back burned with a much greater intensity. Lucien clamped his jaw shut to prevent a sound from escaping his mouth. It was the greatest pain he had ever felt, greater than even his injuries. He lost his consciousness.

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When Lucien awoke, he found his surroundings to be much different than he remembered. His back lay resting against a large, soft pillow and all around his body was a wafting aura, engulfing him in a warmth that rivaled the most beautiful of summer days. He felt completely at peace and more importantly; completely without pain. He stretched his body with a new sort of happiness, relishing in the feel of his light muscles.

"Speaker, at last you wake." Lucien turned to lock eyes with a picture of glowing beauty; Aeris sat up in the chair that she had positioned next to his bed. As the man drank in the sight before him, he slowly became aware of every single detail around him. The clothe underneath him was not his, yet the bed felt the same; his room in Fort Farragut seemed brighter than usual, not to mention warmer; he was breathing in some sort of… burning flower smell; and the glowing air that blanketed his body was coming from her hands, which were resting softly on his abdomen. Before he could put to words what confusion he held, the beauty's lips parted, bringing a most wonderful noise to his ears.

"I've been promoted to Assassin." Her voice was a clear liquid, washing through him and cleansing his muddled thoughts. When Lucien realized he had simply closed his eyes and left her without a response for a few minutes, he coughed lightly and cleared his throat.

"I… I know, Aeris. I recommended to Ocheeva that she promote you once more. I made the right choice." A faint blush tinted her cheeks as she attempted to focus solely on healing her Speaker.

"Lucien…are you going to tell me what happened, or will I have to spend the night guessing?" She darted her blue orbs to his face, searching for an answer. Lucien sighed, knowing that he owed her at least a few words on how he had ended up in the condition she found him in.

"I delivered the request for your presence a few days ago. I was on my way to intercept a potential recruit who had just made their first kill. Prior even to my stop at the Cheydinhal sanctuary, I received an anonymously sealed letter. Its contents were what tipped me off to find the young murderer. Whoever wrote it, counted on my trusting the signature at the bottom. I can't believe I was fooled in such a childish way." Lucien rubbed his temples with thumb and forefinger, eyebrows furrowed together. Aeris's hands lifted from his body, and he found himself wishing she had left them there. She placed her elbows in the edge of his bed, bringing her face to rest in open palms. Continuing to hold eye contact with him, she silently urged him to continue. He complied after a moment's hesitation.

"When I reached the Inn, I made my way to the room that he was supposed to be at; as I always do. Except instead of our new family member, it was an ominously masked figure that stood in the room, awaiting my arrival. I was careless and caught off guard. That figure was very skilled in the art of conjuration, however not as detail oriented as he should have been. I know two things about the culprit; the first being that he was male, and the second being the fact that he was wearing a robe of the Dark Family."

"You mean you were ambushed by the Traitor?" Aeris's eyes were wide with shock as she realized the nature of his encounter.

"…Which brings me to why you're here. I'm promoting you once more; to Silencer." Lucien paused to search Aeris's eyes for a response. Her face had inched closer to his chest throughout his story and he was only now realizing how near she was to him. A chuckle escaped her throat and she teased him while leaning in even closer.

"Well Speaker, if you wanted to see me more often, you could have just asked. No need to promote me in such a rush…" Lucien wanted to laugh heartily at her flirtatious joke, but she didn't understand how serious the matter really was, or what role she was about to play. Surely she would never have made the remark had she known what he was about to ask her to do. Gulping down his growing anxiety, he decided that it was best to just spit it out and deal with her reaction afterwards.

"Aeris…I'm promoting you because I need you to perform a Purification on the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. All of the signs point to one of our branch members being the traitor. It's the only explanation for how I was so easily accessible. I have my suspicions as to who exactly it might be… but when something like this happens, all must die."


	3. Angel of the Night

**Note:** _I apologize for the late update. I hope it's up to par with what is expected of a Lucien romance. Next chapter will explore the demented relationship between Speaker and Silencer. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_

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Lucien watched with remorse as his Silencer's mouth gaped in horror at his words. Before he even had time to think of a response, a loud smack reverberated and echoed through the cavernous room. She had slapped him as hard as she could, resulting in Lucien's cheek reddening by the second.

Aeris didn't have an answer in her throat. Instead what she felt was a lump, dark and twisted and tasting of bile, as she tried to grasp what her Speaker had just uttered to her. He had asked, no, _demanded_ that she kill the very beings that she had grown to call Family. From the moment she had set foot in the dark chamber of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, they had welcomed her with open arms and accepted her. Ocheeva took her in like a lost mother finding her child once more. Vicente had shown her the wisdom and experience of centuries of knowledge, all the while trusting her completely. Aeris felt as though she could even live without the others as long as she had those two wonderful souls by her side. But that wasn't enough; fate smiled upon her and brought forth more family members, each with their own unique type of love to share with her.

And suddenly, she was expected to accept a new title and eradicate those nearest to her heart. Aeris felt dizzy as the whole of her world began breaking and cracking at the seams. She vaguely registered Lucien's movements from the bed towards her. How was he walking so soon after her restorations? It was a surprise that he wasn't at least stumbling or taking a few moments to catch himself before continuing on. But as her focus returned to her mind, she realized he was too close. His arms had her not a second later. She was taken into a tight embrace.

Aeris pulled away and a plume of ice left her fingertips as a warning. But then her back hit a solid wall behind her, and she felt Lucien's hands over her wrists, moving digits up the length of her arms. They hit her shoulders, rubbed a bit, squeezed, and then moved down to her waist, where they rested above her hip bones, pressing and massaging the tight muscles surrounding them. A whimper rose from Aeris's chest as she lost control of her nerves, allowing them to bask in the comfort of another's touch.

Who was she kidding when she showed anger in her eyes? It was so short lived towards the man because… because, well she needed this. Aeris longed for his touch from the moment she first met him and it was finally happening. After weeks of not seeing him, she was here in front of his warm body, willingly accepting his distractions from a job she had already accepted in her subconcsious. She knew in her heart, confirmed with her foggy mind that he was doing this on purpose. He was lying to her, pretending to care, feigning his attraction; so that she might have some sanity before delving into the recesses of the Void itself.

And yet, here she stood, feeling herself spiral the slightest bit into a small pool in the back of her mind; A pocket that held a fragile portion of her character – madness. She could feel it, rising up and finding a fuel to its fire. She had denied it all her life, counteracted against it throughout the years. But as this seductively hot-mouthed man pressed himself into her body, she felt the twinges of a crazed lust nip and bite at her heart, begging for an out. She finally gave in and wrapped her arms around Lucien's neck, pulling him in further and tangling her fingers in his hair. What else could there be in this world but pure, selfish desire? The man in front of her was giving her exactly what she wanted all along, and who was she to deny the kind offering?

As her brain vaguely registered soft kisses trailing from her temple to her collarbone, she began to feel in her heart why she joined the Darkness; why she joined Sithis. It was because she was running from an indefinite loneliness that would appear to her in the form of treachery and deceit. Wasn't that why she had killed? Not just for personal vengeance, but for the satisfaction of delivering unbridled retribution to those who deserved the worst. And when the blood was washed from her hands after each of her judgments to the damned, all that remained was her. She owed it to herself to take what she wanted and live with the sacrifices that came with it. If selfish bliss came at the price of lives, so be it. Those at the Sanctuary longed for Sithis anyway, perhaps it was time to allow them that precious gift. Besides, Aeris had lived without them before; which means she could do it again. Sithis had helped her take control of life itself, and she needed to repay the favor.

* * *

><p>Lucien groaned at the feel of fingers and nails massaging and scraping lightly on his skull. He had only meant to hold her and comfort her at first. His verbal attempts left much to be desired and he instead decided to try calming her in a different way. This was, after all, the ending goal of the game he had begun playing with her when they first met. It was just… poor timing the way that it was happening at this particular moment. Though it wasn't without reason; he had wanted her to do the unthinkable. To<em> kill <em>for him. He told her that she was to become his Silencer, the one who carries out its Speaker's demands. She was hesitant, though as he moved closer to her, touched her with more fervor, he saw her resolve breaking. Her mind was truly, finally, giving in to Sithis; giving in to _him_.

So he couldn't stop now, as much as he wanted to leave her alone with her thoughts. As much as he wanted to give her some time and space to prepare herself for her most important job yet; he just couldn't leave. It was hell, trying to avoid touching her all this time. Lucien honestly saw no point in waiting, but he was for some reason compelled to keep the woman waiting, wanting. He wanted to see how long it would take her to break, to finally give in to her desires and accept advancement like this, no matter the timing. It seemed at this moment she had finally decided to let go of an older train of thought inhabiting her being. She was making it very clear to him that she no longer cared about allies, about morals, maybe even about the job. In fact, he was almost convinced that she didn't really care about _anything_ besides having his body in such close proximity to hers.

He responded to each breath that she let out, with each small whimper he moved his hands to a different part of her torso. Lustfully grabbing at Aeris's plump breasts in turn filled his loins with desire. Alternating in kneading first one, then the other, then both, he watched as his Silencer squirmed underneath him. She arched her back and pushed her chest towards his hands in a silent beg for more. He gave it to her.

Running one hand down the side of her nimble frame, he reached her hip again. He squeezed her love handle before trailing towards her backside, grabbing as much of her luscious ass as he could with just the one hand. Quickly realizing that he couldn't resist, he leaned his weight into her, covering her mouth with his own and reaching his other hand to meet with the neglected half of her buttocks. As their lips moved against each other and their bodies melded together and growing hotter by the second, Lucien felt himself losing control of any inhibitions he might have still had in her presence. If she wanted it, he would give it to her, twice over. He might have been her Speaker and her - his Silencer, but in this moment _he_ was the one ready to perform her every command; she need only ask.

* * *

><p>Warm lips met each other in hot, breathy kisses. A flick of Aeris's tongue meant a soft retaliation from Lucien's. Aeris barely realized throughout their foreplay that the Speaker's readiness to take the woman was becoming apparent in more ways than one. She could tell from the way his mouth moved against her, from how he ran his hands up and down her body, from the heaviness of his breathing when their kisses broke. His nose was in the crook of her neck now, blowing heat into her hair while his lips grazed the sensitive skin on her shoulder. The combined sensations of his hands and breath and lips and - oh! She sighed in pleasure when she felt teeth nip at her ear lobe. It was a small, yet sharp pain, but was quickly mended by a lick of Lucien's hot tongue over his bite. She became completely lost in him.<p>

Growing more heated by the second, Aeris wondered with what little bit of sentience she had left, just how this man was doing it. How could Lucien be _this_ into her despite only doing this to simply give her what she wanted? _Unless…_ no. She blinked her eyes and pushed that thought out of her mind. There was no way in Sithis's Void that Lucien actually wanted this just as much as she did. So she forgot about it and took advantage of the opportunity while it was here, as if it would never happen again. She circled them around, Lucien's back now the one against the wall with a siren's body in front of him, pushing and rubbing her frontal assets on his chest. If he was pretending, she'd try to make it at least somewhat enjoyable for him.

* * *

><p>Lucien was about to lose his own damn mind. Somehow, in a matter of seconds, he had been stripped of his control over Aeris and <em>she <em>was the one doing the teasing. The man was at her mercy, slowly growing more and more aroused with each flutter of her fingers over the skin on his neck. She was teasing and pushing him towards the brink of losing it, yet dangling her treasure just outside of his reach. He needed more and by Sithis – what is she doing? Aeris's mouth was pressed firmly on his wanting lips, but her hands had disappeared from his hair. Lucien's nerves barely felt the traces of her light touching inching slowly down the length of his torso. When she reached his lower abdomen, just above the lining of his trousers, he shuddered in anticipation of what might come next. His mind reeled and told him to grab hold of the situation, don't let her do this to you, _you_ take it from her! But he was too far lost in her hot touch to care. He wanted what she was giving to him, wanted to see where she was leading them. A shiver of pleasure rippled through his spine when her trailing hand had found what it was searching for and closed around his bulge. She grabbed firmly and left his mouth alone to breathe heavily with desire into her face. When Lucien opened his eyes he found himself spiraling into blue orbs, staring into the eyes of the woman he had kept himself from for so long.

_Rules be damned._

With a new zeal in his motions, Lucien wrapped his arms around Aeris's torso and pressed his mouth to her ear. He huskily whispered to her exactly what he wanted to do with her body and felt the woman gasp into his neck. When she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, he lifted her legs up, guiding them around his hips with his hands firmly gripping her butt. As Lucien walked them back over to his bed he felt himself questioning one more time if this was the right thing to do. But he blinked the thought out of his mind for the last time with the deciding conclusion; Aeris wanted this. As her Speaker, he was obligated to help her in her time of need, just as she is to help him when the need arises. Not that he particularly _felt_ obligated, in fact he wanted it just as much, if not more than she was expressing. And he was going to show her just how badly he wanted her, for they had reached his bed and he already had her underneath him.

* * *

><p>Hips grinded against fabric and the sounds of breathy gasps and moans filled the chamber. Somehow, amidst the rubbing, kissing, and touching, the two had rid themselves of their clothes. They laid together, Lucien on top of Aeris with his hands running all over her thin frame, never satisfied and always needing more. A pleasure filled yelp left the woman's hot mouth when strong fingers found the wet folds between her thighs. The fingers played and trailed around her opening, teasing her with light scratches and rubs. The hand found the bead above her waiting lips and ran its forefinger just along the top of it, causing Aeris's toes to curl and her abdomen to tense up with want. She grabbed at Lucien's neck, pulling him into another set of kisses, all the while breaking here and there to whimper a soft 'please' before locking mouths again. He complied and delved three of his digits into her opening, pushing and flexing his hand's muscles to rub against her sweet spot.<p>

By the second time she had released a dripping orgasm on his hand and forearm, Lucien was beside himself with lust for the woman's body. He planted kisses up and down her neck and collarbone, pausing that particular onslaught to catch one of her pink nipples in his mouth to suck and lick in stimulation. Her cries rang in his ears as he brought his throbbing member to prod at her opening. Another 'please' left the woman's moist mouth and Lucien thrust himself into her, savoring the feel of the first entrance. Together they climbed to the height of their climax, groaning and gasping with each thrust. Aeris tightened her legs around Lucien's waist as her stomach flexed and her spine shivered with another rippling orgasm, this time from the unending movement against her insides. The pulsing and throbbing of the woman's tight lips around his burning cock was too much for him to keep control and he let out a throaty moan into the crook of Aeris's neck as he let loose his seed to mix with her own juices.

..

* * *

><p>..<p>

Aeris rubbed at her left breast, alleviating the dull throbbing of a growing bruise underneath the skin. Her bout of 'romance' with Lucien had left her with small marks of his love here and there. This particular one was from him grabbing at her a little too hard in his lusty haze. She didn't mind, anything that he did to her body was welcomed with the expectation that it helped her forget what she needed to do after their sex was over. But now the time had come, all too quickly, and she sat invisible in the corner of Vicente's room, waiting for him to return from his moonlit walk for slumber. She had known his routine well, and that would be his downfall. Aeris chose to remove Vicente first from this world, after much deliberation. In her thoughts following her meeting with Lucien, she felt herself going mad thinking of which family member to kill first. She tried to stop at the Cheydinhal tavern with the hope that a few swigs of liquor could ease the burden. They only made her regret the decision that much more. She left the tavern with a sour aftertaste in her mouth, partially from the liquor and partially from the guilty anticipation of her task at hand.

Her eyes moved from each object in the room, taking in their significance and respective insignificance. A fork left on the table from a previous meal, a quill still dripping with ink left hastily on the desk, light tendrils of smoke from a candle next to his bed. The light flickered and bounced all the shadows of his room against Aeris's waiting figure. When she heard footsteps approaching down the stairs, her stomach tightened and she found her palms were slick with a cold sweat. She couldn't move; her feet were frozen in place as the door edged open, allowing a dark figure to pass inside quietly, then shut again. She watched with nervousness as he moved slowly to the seat at the table and sat with much effort. After a few ragged breaths, the vampire spoke.

"I know you are here, Angel of the Night. Just take my life quickly, so that I might find some peace in the Void."

With steps wavering and anxious, Aeris moved before Vicente, kneeling at his feet and dispelling her invisibility. Vicente looked on her face with a smile so kind and genuine, it caused Aeris's tear ducts to falter, and she felt her eyes well with the liquid substance. Her shaky voice betrayed the cool aura that she wanted to give off when she asked with strain how he knew.

"My dear child," he started while cupping her cheek gently, "I would be a fool to not have some idea of my death after living for over two centuries. Two hundred years I have walked among the living, a dead thing still moving lifelessly through thousands of lush, vibrant people. The first half of my life, I sought righteousness. Even after my transition into the life of an undead, I vowed to make well with my gift. But I found that society is not inherently good. It was pointless for me to continue my fight against evil when each person has darkness in them. I discovered the ways of the deadric gods, and I let myself go in their twisted embraces. Now here I sit before you, ready to die and face a true afterlife. My regrets and mistakes have caught up to me, and I find myself no longer wanting to be here."

A shaky hand reached into the pocket of his tunic, bringing forth three items; a polished silver dagger, a small wooden totem of Arkay, and a single clove of garlic. Aeris stared in shock at the items, realizing that these objects were the source of Vicente's apparent suffering this night. She sat on the table in front of the vampire, gently sponging away beads of sweat on his forehead with her sleeve. Vicente closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He reached a hand out towards the woman, who took it and pulled him forward into an embrace. Tears trailed down the Silencer's cheeks in sorrow as she held her breath and pushed the silver dagger slowly through the vampire's chest. With his heart pierced, his hand moved to the symbol of Arkay. Aeris looked into his face before taking hold of the garlic clove. She crushed the clove with the bottom of the divine icon, creating a paste. When her gaze met her victim's once more, she found peace in the orbs.

All around Vicente's eyes were the signs of struggle and grief. From the sweat on his skin, to the wrinkles in his brow; he now appeared older to the woman than he ever had before. She watched his expression change to reflect pain as she removed the dagger from his chest and rub in the paste with the totem of Arkay. It was an unexpected ceremony, as Aeris had imagined many different senarios of Vicente's death. None of them involved him anticipating his murder, and yet this outcome now seemed to be the most natural, the most respectful. Vicente's life force drained from him, leaving a lifeless corpse for the Silencer to hold in her arms. She wept quietly yet freely as her magical aura captured and moved the cadaver onto his stone bed, leaving him to sleep until the end of time.

Aeris ceased her sorrowful crying as she tucked a blanket around the body, covering it's decay from the world. As she left the small room and moved her feet towards the stairs, her gut tightened and she felt a barb of darkness inside her. It persisted through the rest of her assignment, occupying her mind in a static cloud. It hung around her and eventually overtook her. She was finished before she even realized, and upon waking from her crazed trance, she was in a clearing. Away from Cheydinhal and away from its citizens, she had built a pyre with which to burn away her family. It was her final gift of respect to them; though the guilt of taking their lives in their innocence tore through her being. She set fire to her family and watched as the darkness grew in her mind.

..

* * *

><p>..<p>

Lucien's warm touch cut throughout the whole of Aeris's being. She had returned to him, presenting him with seven vials, each filled with a sampling of ashes from her seven victims. Words were not exchanged upon her arrival. An embrace, a kiss on her forehead and a silent question through his eyes was all she received from her Speaker. Her body felt weak, and she gave into the comfort that was the only other being in this world that could know her plight. Lucien kissed her softly and signaled through his lips a reassurance that Aeris had never felt before. She accepted, and kissed back through her tears. Passion and understanding was what he offered her; that was all that was needed, and all that was given.


End file.
